Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

Will Mumbai Be Transformed Into Shanghai?

Not too long ago(about 9 months ago) before the Maharashtra assembly elections. Our Prime Minister Shri. Manmohan Singh had come down to Mumbai and had promised the people of Mumbai that they would have a world class city worthy of being called the economic capital of the country. He would ensure that Mumbai would have first class infrastructure and all facilities that would be the awe of India.Unfortunately after the 50 odd flyovers and the expressway built by the Shiv Sena BJP govt there was NO additional infrastructure added in the ensuing SIX years of Kangress rule.

The Chief Minister Vilas Deshmukh and the home minister R.R Patil had started demolishing slums unlawfully occupying govt. land and clearing up Mumbai of all debris. Suddenly everything was stopped due to the hand of god (blessings of Mother Sonia).The PM was totally silent even during the demolition drive and after it was stopped.

Today after nearly 300 deaths in Mumbai alone (about 600 elsewhere in Maharashtra) due to flooding because of rains we are forced to think about this promise made by none other than the PM who's character is unblemished and has an enviable record as a man of his words and a person with exceptional managemnt skills be it economy or general governance.

Today there is a Kangress govt. in the center as well as the state, so lack of co-ordination cannot be an issue.

So the question is that we all voted the Kangress because of Manmohan Singh's slogan of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai can we trust him to implement his promise?

leave mumbai...i've not heard of any concerete devlopment by kangress-led govt from last year....can anyone here post the developmental work (national scale like infrastructure devlopment) taken up by kangress from scratch

instead they are keeping busy formulating plans to make more reservations (eg-muslims in AP) and forming commitees for every possible things..ofcourse without any results...

Re: Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

How can Mumbai become a Shanghai when the Shiv Sena run BMC is doing such a fuked up job of cleaing up the city. When the government declares a day off so that clean up can happen in the city how come the BMC workers took that day off when they should be cleaning up after the aftermath. Its not the job of the navy and air force personnel to clear drains of human and animal carcasses. Will somebody explain that lethergy of the BMC to me?

Re: Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

Shanghai?? The deluge this city had has exposed the present government's incompetence to tackle with any such emergency situations. While the city was marooned & people were stuck at various places, the government was napping with no plan of action to deal with this crisis. This apathy shown by the government during the deluge & its aftermath has given the citizens of this city a clear indication about what to expect from it in the future too.

Govinda, the MP from North Bombay who traveled by the local trains during the election time to garner votes from the popularity of the "Virar Chokra" he had earned then was nowhere to be contacted during this hour of need. He apparently stayed put at his bungalow in Juhu refusing to answer any calls. Is this why the people of this constituency voted for?

Three days after being hit by one of the worst spells of monsoon rain, the reputation of India's financial capital Mumbai (Bombay) as a dynamic economic powerhouse has taken a beating.

One of India's leading business dailies, the Economic Times, put it bluntly: "Megapolis Hopes Go Down That Clogged Drain."

It continues: "Any aspirations, illusions or fond daydreams for standing up to some of the biggest and best global cities have now been crashed into smithereens."

Many are drawing attention to the spirited response of the city's residents to the crisis and contrasting it to the listless approach of the administration. "Where were the police? The emergency services? The fire department officials?" rails Neeti Chopra, a management consultant who waded home through waist-deep water after being stuck in her car for six hours. "How can India's financial capital be brought to its knees by a spell of heavy rain?"

'Harrowing'

Chartered accountant, Jatin Dighe, left his central Mumbai office at 1630 on Tuesday to drive home to the north-western suburb of Thane. It's a journey that usually takes him about an hour. He reached home at 2130 on Wednesday - 29 hours later.

"It was the most harrowing experience of my life - I survived on biscuits and water. After the first few hours, all the policemen simply vanished." Many applaud the generosity of Mumbai's citizens - local residents opened their homes to strangers; others distributed food and water. Marooned schoolchildren found refuge in homes and temples.

"On one long stretch along the Western Expressway, local volunteers began directing traffic, trying to ease the congestion," says another Mumbai resident, Anant Iyer. "I didn't see a single policeman." The ones that were there were apparently of little help. "A policeman waved me through to a side street, saying it was clear ahead," recalls Mr Dighe. "I began driving in when several people rushed towards me frantically waving their hands. "They told me that if I drove any further, my car would be completely submerged in flood water."

Unprepared

City and government authorities defend themselves against the criticism by pointing out that the city was hit by some of the heaviest rain in decades.

"No city in the world would have been able to cope with this kind of downpour," says deputy chief minister, RR Patil

It is a point of view that is instantly challenged. "The problem was not with the deluge," writes the Economic Times, "but its aftermath."

"Nature alone is not to blame," writes the Midday tabloid. "This great city needs a great leader."

Advertising filmmaker and prominent Mumbai resident, Prahlad Kakkar, argues that the authorities appear to have learned little from the recent tsunami disaster. "This is as close to a tsunami as we can get," he says. "The problem is that we just about manage to keep our noses ahead of disaster every year because the authorities build just about the bare minimum infrastructure."

Analysts and media reports point out that despite being India's richest city, Mumbai has severe inadequacies.

* There is no effective public information system
* There is no wireless communication between key agencies such as the police, fire department or hospitals
* There are no back-up systems for power supply
* Call centre operations collapsed because of poor internet connectivity

Others point out that Mumbai has been badly planned, with slums and shantytowns allowed to spring up in open land with no infrastructural support.

They say that careful ecological planning could have averted this week's disaster. "When you plan a city, you maintain its natural waterways, which allows excess water to be drained into the sea," says Prahlad Kakkar.

"But in our city, the waterways have been built upon and blocked."

Many of the city's residents say they believe the onus is on them and they should stop relying on the government. "If Mumbai's residents rise to the challenge and demonstrate the spirit they showed these past few days, we can make this a fantastic place to live," says Jatin Dighe.

Re: Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

Quote:

Originally Posted by padhu

How can Mumbai become a Shanghai when the Shiv Sena run BMC is doing such a fuked up job of cleaing up the city. When the government declares a day off so that clean up can happen in the city how come the BMC workers took that day off when they should be cleaning up after the aftermath. Its not the job of the navy and air force personnel to clear drains of human and animal carcasses. Will somebody explain that lethergy of the BMC to me?

This a hallmark of mismanagement. This decision of declaring a day as public holiday was taken UNILATERALLY without consulting the BMC. Datta Dalvi mayor of the municipality was complainining against this decision of the Kangress govt.

All avalable equipment with the BMC was already in full use. They had requested for additional dumpers and heavy machinary with the Kangress govt. could not provide.If J.Jayalalithaa could manage the Tsunami so well why not the Kangress?

Besides this thread is about discussing each one's perception about the truthfulness of Manmohan's promise to Mumbai. If the BMC is solely responsible for making Mumbai to Shanghai why did he even make such a promise in the first place??

Re: Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

Viking, the problem with mumbai is that the state govt is run by a diff party and the bmc run by another. For the city to prosper, both need to work hand in glove with each other, but that never has and never will as each one is busy trying to pull the chair from under each other and point fingers at each other in events like these. Therefore, its not just Manmohan Singh's promise that is at play here but the entire working principals and the people of mumbai who can make it happen.

Re: Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

Quote:

Originally Posted by padhu

Viking, the problem with mumbai is that the state govt is run by a diff party and the bmc run by another. For the city to prosper, both need to work hand in glove with each other, but that never has and never will as each one is busy trying to pull the chair from under each other and point fingers at each other in events like these. Therefore, its not just Manmohan Singh's promise that is at play here but the entire working principals and the people of mumbai who can make it happen.

Taking that logic to proper conclusion, Central govt. & State Govt. here in this case are run by Congress-lead Coalitions ..So the whole state should have prospered due to the "COORDINATION" ...In fact, whole India should be prospering since currently most of the states are ruled by UPA Constituents ...what about the COORDINATION between Central Govt. & Bihar which should be prospering since fors almost 40 years , there was perfect coordination with both Central & State govt. ruled by Congress ?

Re: Do you believe in Manmohan Singh's promise of transforming Mumbai into Shanghai?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soorma Bhopali

Taking that logic to proper conclusion, Central govt. & State Govt. here in this case are run by Congress-lead Coalitions ..So the whole state should have prospered due to the "COORDINATION" ...In fact, whole India should be prospering since currently most of the states are ruled by UPA Constituents ...what about the COORDINATION between Central Govt. & Bihar which should be prospering since fors almost 40 years , there was perfect coordination with both Central & State govt. ruled by Congress ?

Soorma, the state government doesnt have much control of a city let alone the central government when the local corporation is responsbile for the city. Central government can only issue monetory claimants and disposition of funds.

As far as i can tell, it wouldnt matter if it was BJP, SS or Congress running the show this time as Mumbai has no disaster management cell able to tackle this at all. Forget that, we talk about Infrastructure and how some people bray that BJP set forth the IT revolution and the technology/infrastructure paradigm for India, well it didnt work did it. One heavy rainfall was all it took to throw all call centers out of service, phone lines dead and India's finances in a tizzy.

We can all shout out congress *****es and SS *****es and all that stuff but the fact of the matter is the mumbai has exploded. It is a totally unplanned city and for a few bucks more, each and ever government servant screws it up day in and day out. Right from the garbge picker to the fukin Chief Minister. And to top it all off we have scum bags from villages and diff countries who come to the city to make it a home when the city is just unable to copy with this mass.

Before we even start to think to make it a Shanghai, we need to change the perspective and thinking of the government machinery to make a change for the city's good rather than their own personal good.

That is not going to happen becuase all government employees are fukers out to make a quick buck. I would love to see mumbai as a Shanghai but unfortunately that is not going to happen, atleast not till the "Chalta Hai" attitude and "a few bucks under the table" attitude exist.